Patrick Raedler claimed a fifth-place finish in the men's long jump NCAA Championships on Friday.

Photo Courtesy Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations

Courtesy: NU Media Relations

03/14/2014

Albuquerque, N.M. - The Nebraska track and field team opened the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M. on Friday evening. Patrick Raedler led the Huskers on the day with a fifth-place finish in the men’s long jump.

Raedler claimed a spot on the podium with a leap of 25-6 (7.77), earning the second All-America honor of his career. A two-time Big Ten Champion in the long jump indoors, Raedler’s leap was his second-best mark of the season.

“It feels pretty good,” Raedler said. “Going into my final jump I thought, ‘this is my last indoor jump for Nebraska ever, I have to jump well.’ I was really nervous. I’ve rarely been that nervous before a jump, but I am happy with how I placed today.”

Raedler made steady improvement on each attempt in the prelims, posting leaps of 23-11 (7.29), 24-5 ½ (7.45) and 25-1 ¾ (7.66). Moving into the finals, he notched a mark of 24-11 ¼ (7.60) on his fourth attempt, before a leap of 24-6 ½ (7.48) on his fifth attempt. He closed the competition with his best jump of the day, posting a mark of 25-6 (7.77).

In the men’s 60-meter hurdles, Oladapo Akinmoladun finished fourth in his heat with a time of 7.70. His time marked his second-best performance on the season, however he was just edged by the rest of the field as he would finish ninth overall and would not advance to tomorrow’s finals.

The Huskers return to the track tomorrow for the final day of competition, as the men’s 4x400-meter relay team will take the track at 9:05 p.m. CT. ESPN3.com will carry the action live, while live results will be available at FlashResults.com.